At the main chamber of the Swelling Water God Palace, a bunch of newly healed cultivators were cleaning out the ruins and moving the rubble toward the designated clearing. Although they didn’t have tools, they were all at least full Body-tempering stage cultivators, capable of moving a rock weighing over one thousand catties with one hand and running with it. As for Dao Foundation stage cultivators, they had Dao arts that they could use. Some attracted a pile of rubble from one place to another, while some merged the rubble into one massive rock before carrying it away.

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan summoned Yun Feifei again and commanded her to take another look around the area. He wanted to choose a suitable location within a hundred li for the relocated mortals to settle.

However, Yun Feifei did not move. Instead, she gave him an aggrieved look and said, “I have fought a great battle and suffered various injuries for you, yet you won’t even let me treat my wounds before sending me away to my next task. Not even mules are abused this much, are they?”

It was only then Wei Yuan recalled that Yun Feifei was, in fact, injured. Having fought a bloody battle with her, his impression of the woman had improved significantly. It was a fact she had led from the front and fought the enemy fiercely from the start until the end. In the end, she suffered severe injuries as a result. The only reason she was even standing right now was solely thanks to her cultivation.

His heart softened, and he said, “Very well. Go rest and recover. I’ll find someone else to do the task.”

“No way!”

Wei Yuan wasn’t expecting such a response. What was she up to?

Chewing her bottom lip, Yun Feifei demanded, “I’m only injured this badly because of you, so I want you to treat me! Besides, no one else’s healing skills are as good as yours!”

Given the circumstances, Wei Yuan found it difficult to refuse. He could claim that his healing skills were mediocre, but that was only compared to his sect fellows in the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Here in this region, the basic knowledge he had gained from his Techniques Theory class was more than enough to be an expert in the field. Even calling himself a master healer wouldn’t be far off the mark. That was why Wei Yuan couldn’t bring himself to lie and say that he wasn’t up to the task.

And so Wei Yuan followed Yun Feifei to a disciple room that hadn’t collapsed yet. Inside the room was a bed—the bed she had laid on earlier, even.

Yun Feifei lay down on the bed and said, “You can come up now.” 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Wei Yuan was going to take action, but something about her phrasing felt off.

Motionless, Yun Feifei urged, “What are you waiting for, Senior Brother? Tens of thousands of mortals are still waiting to be relocated. For every day they stay in that environment, their lifespans will shorten a little more.”

That was exactly the motivation Wei Yuan needed to reach out and lift Yun Feifei’ blouse. The woman must have undone her front buttons at some point, because a gentle lift was all he needed to expose her entire back.

Yun Feifei’s complexion was so white she was glowing. She looked thin, but there was actually a thin layer of flesh covering every bone due to how delicate her frame was. When Wei Yuan touched her lightly, he was surprised to find that he couldn’t feel her bones.

Truly... there is nothing special about her physique whatsoever! Wei Yuan thought to himself while shaking his head. Zhang Sheng and his Big Senior Sister had soft hands as well, but they could easily pierce metal and stone with a casual flick of their fingers. On the other hand, Yun Feifei was just soft.

There were multiple distinct wounds on her back. Half an arrowhead was even protruding from one of them and oozing blood. Fortunately, Jia Wood Nurtures Life was keeping the poison laced onto the arrowhead suppressed. That was why the blood seeping out of the wound was more red than green.

Wei Yuan removed the arrowhead and treated the wound and the rest accordingly. Then, he concentrated the surrounding Life Nurturing energy inside her body, causing her wounds to knit themselves right before his eyes. At this rate, the flesh wounds would be fully healed in half a day or less.

After the wounds on her back were treated, Yun Feifei spoke softly, “There’s more down there.”

Wei Yuan was just about to cut away the blood-soaked part of her skirt when Yun Feifei cried in a hurry, “Stop! This is the only skirt I have at the moment!”

Wei Yuan stopped in surprise, and Yun Feifei undid her dress of her own accord, revealing the injured area. She had indeed been seriously injured. Dark, murky qi was covering her thighs, and the wound had already begun to fester. He could even see patches of white insect eggs within them.

The Shamans’ curse and poison arts were extremely malicious. If not treated in time, the insect eggs created from mystic energy would hatch, and a swarm of insects would penetrate the victim’s flesh and hollow them from the inside out.

Wei Yuan did not dare to dilly-dally and immediately started the treatment, carefully tending to every wound. Once done, he suppressed the toxic curse with Jia Wood Nurtures Life. It took a long time before he was finally finished.

Wei Yuan still didn’t relax, however. After all, the treatment was only halfway complete.

......[1]

Nearly one hour and a half later, the duo finally stepped out of the room. Sweat beaded on Yun Feifei’s forehead, and her cheeks looked rather flushed. She also looked thoroughly worn out; so much so that she, a Dao Foundation stage cultivator, was a bit unsteady on her feet. At least she could still fly, albeit barely.

Wei Yuan was going to send Yun Feifei away on her original task when suddenly, he sensed something from his array disc. When his perception swept through the object, he discovered that a weak dot was flashing near the periphery. It was only then he recalled that that spot shared a karmic connection with Yun Feifei. However, it was just a weak reaction, and a bunch of things had happened in a row after he discovered Qingming. That was why he had neglected it until now.

Wei Yuan asked Yun Feifei, “Come with me. There’s something I want to search for.”

“Okay.” At the moment, Yun Feifei was being very obedient.

The duo quickly arrived at a ruin ten li away where a dozen or so dwellings for the disciples of the Swelling God Water Palace were scattered about. Most of them were small two or three-storey buildings, though there were also a few detached courtyards.

According to Yun Feifei, this was where the outer sect disciples and servants had lived. There shouldn’t be anything of value here.

The karmic connection displayed by the array disc was located at a detached courtyard. It belonged to a deputy steward and so consisted of only a front building and a rear building[2]. The entire courtyard had been razed by an external force, leaving nothing but ruins. Judging from the traces, someone had used a Daoist art to level all of the buildings at once, not bothering to dismantle them carefully for a thorough search.

Wei Yuan’s perception swept across the area. He found nothing. There was only soil underneath the ruins.

However, Wei Yuan had already witnessed how the power of incense prayer of the Swelling Water God Palace was capable of concealing things. So, he changed his tactic and searched for the power of incense prayers using the Qi Viewing spell instead. As expected, he found a small cloud of it in the underground.

Wei Yuan and Yun Feifei worked together. It wasn’t long before they unearthed a couple underground chambers.

Wei Yuan took the lead and stepped inside the passage first. When he reached the other end and opened the door, he found himself looking at a somewhat spacious chamber. He manifested a Fake Sun to illuminate the room before lighting the wall lamps and the candles.

Judging by the furnishings, it was a main hall used for receiving guests. On the wall behind the seat of honor hung a portrait depicting a man, a woman, and a girl. They looked exactly like the three statues Wei Yuan had seen in the hidden chamber hidden beneath the central hall. However, their faces were missing from the portraits. It looked very eerie.

Beneath the portraits stood an altar table, with a chair placed on either side. Wei Yuan scanned it with his perception and immediately noticed several suspicious details. He gave the altar table a push, but it didn’t bunch an inch. It was because it was made of iron and welded to the floor. The altar table also had two drawers. Wei Yuan pulled them open to find some ropes and ribbons inside. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. The drawers were fitted with two iron rings so that they could be opened.

It was at this moment Wei Yuan sensed something off about Yun Feifei’s aura. When he looked back, he saw that she had turned a little white for some reason. Her forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat as well.

“What’s wrong? Have you been here before?”

Yun Feifei hesitated for a moment before answering, “I’m not sure. I think I came here when I was little, but I don’t recall it at all now that I’m older. I probably haven’t been back since.”

1. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜

2. A siheyuan is a traditional Chinese architectural style characterized by a courtyard enclosed by buildings on all four sides. This one only has two. ☜